Racism has recently raised its ugly head in Northern Ireland and has rightly been condemned by all right-thinking people and swift action taken to punish those guilty of these heinous crimes. In the world today discrimination of any nature is totally unacceptable and must be challenged from wherever it comes.
Unfortunately, in these six counties, discrimination is still rife and is openly practised by one very public organisation – the Orange Order.
While membership of this organisation has drastically dwindled in recent years, it still has a considerable numbers of members, most in the older age brackets, and the rules governing this body are blatantly sectarian and openly discriminatory.
The large Catholic population are the clear targets and this is allowed to proceed without any serious challenge from those in political power in this part of Ireland.
The Orange Order came into existence centuries ago and it has been allowed to continue to exist as a result of the sectarian nature of these six counties.
This, however, is no justification for the existence of such a blatantly discriminatory organisation and the powers that be must challenge the sectarian rules and regulations that govern this body.
Discrimination on the basis of race is clearly wrong and must be faced down. Discrimination on the basis of religion is equally as wrong, and must also be challenged in a similar fashion.
One blatantly sectarian rule governing the Orange Order is that no Catholic can ever be a member of the group and no member of the Order can marry a Catholic and remain a member of the organisation.
These are blatant examples of discrimination and they are at the very top of the Orange Order’s rules and regulations.
In fact, this sectarian discrimination is the very basis of the Order and the organisation makes no attempt to hide or even disguise this unpalatable fact. Proverbially it could be rightly said that they wear it with pride – not a boast most people would like to make.
The Orange Order also refers, in its documentation, to the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope, as the anti-Christ. This is a very discriminatory statement and an insult to all of those who are part of the Catholic Church all over the world. Despite all of this the Orange Order is still allowed to exist, to publicly parade its beliefs and to play a strong role in politics here today. All branches of unionism are still influenced by the Orange Order, with unionists quite often taking their lead in political decision making from this totally unelected group of individuals.
The Orange Order, since its conception, has always been a major influence in unionist politics and by its inherent sectarian nature has guided unionist politics along their sectarian lines.
The Orange Order must be challenged by our politicians and in the courts and its blatant sectarian policies will have to be abandoned, or the existence of the organisation in its current form can no longer be permitted. It certainly cannot be given any political credence and should have no political influence and no direct interaction with government.
The Order must be left in the past where it belongs, not existing here in the 21st century.
Sean Seeley
Craigavon, Co Armagh
